Control Yourself, Little Sister!
by tulip meadow
Summary: A Never Gonna Happen sort of fanfic. The Sisters Grimm story starts in a similar way, but... Guess what? Sabrina's the little sister, not Daphne! How can it affect their adventures in Ferryport Landing? Just read and see.
1. The Handprint On The Wall

**Just a never-gonna-happen AU story. What if Sabrina was the little sister?**

* * *

**Prologue. The Handprint On The Wall**

10-year-old Daphne Grimm was once again annoyed by her little sister Sabrina. Sabrina was really hard to deal with. She had a temper and a tongue rather sharp for such a small girl, but Daphne could _stand _all of it at least. The worst thing was that Sabrina hated fairy tales, that's what was the most annoying – for Daphne.

"How can you watch _The Little Mermaid_ for the fifth time?" Sabrina cringed, seeing what her sister was doing. "Even I am too big for the kids' movies like this one!"

"I'm not forcing you to watch it," Daphne laughed. "You can stay with your computer, your iPod, your puzzles, and the makeup as long as you like. As for me, I love _The Little Mermaid_."

"Wait! Sabrina, are you playing with my makeup again?" the girls' mother, Veronica, came to the room. "You don't need it – yet. You're only six!"

"Seven in a month," Sabrina corrected, pouting.

"You're still a little girl – and pretty without any makeup," Veronica laughed. "When you grow up a little, you'll apply it. Oh, Daphne, by the way!.."

Daphne stopped the video:

"What?"

"Was it you who painted a scarlet handprint sign on the wall? Or did Brina do it?"

"I didn't," Daphne said, confused.

"I didn't either, honestly," Sabrina added.

"Hm… Strange," Veronica scowled but then cheered up again. "Well, never mind, girls. Your friends were here yesterday, right, Daphne? Some of them may have done it as a joke."

Daphne turned the video on again, and Sabrina went to her room to assemble her new puzzles. Both girls were quite fond of puzzles.

* * *

**If the idea isn't new, please tell me. I'll come up with another one!**


	2. A Carousel Adventure

**Chapter 2. A Carousel Adventure**

Daphne came home from school to find that their parents weren't at home yet. Mom left a text message on Skype, though. It read:

_Daphne, take Brina home and then go to Central Park, to the café near your favorite carousel. I have a BIG surprise for you two and your father._

The girl loved surprises. She immediately went to take Sabrina home from primary school. When going home with her little sister, she found out that Sabrina wasn't in the mood for nice surprises. She did an awful work in her gym class.

"It was unfair to give us this kind of exercise!" she complained. "Ugh! Only three girls did it well."

"Now, now, you'll improve," Daphne smiled reassuringly. "Oh, Mom has a surprise for us – she left a message."

"What kind of surprise?" Sabrina asked, interested.

"If we knew what kind it is, it wouldn't have been a surprise. Have some patience, little sister!"

In an hour or so, they both were finally in Central Park. Daphne walked to the carousel Veronica mentioned in the message and found the small café not far from it.

"C'mon, Mom and Dad are probably worrying about us already," she urged Sabrina. They walked into the café. It was fully crowded. There were only three or four tables, so some people were standing and eating. But the crowd wasn't too big, anyway – Daphne and Sabrina would have noticed their parents. If their parents _were _there…

"Oh, we're early," Sabrina commented.

"Hm… I'll call them," Daphne said and dialed her mother's number. They stood in the café's corner for several minutes. Mom didn't answer her mobile phone. It was more than strange.

"She might have turned off the sound," Sabrina suggested. They called Dad. He didn't answer either.

"Wow, that's queer!" Daphne exclaimed. "One of them _might _have turned on the silent mode. But both of them…"

They walked out of the café and started searching for their parents near the carousel. They didn't have any luck, but continued searching nevertheless.

"Why, Daphne and Sabrina Grimm themselves!" they suddenly heard an exclamation.

Daphne turned to the person speaking: it was an unknown man dressed all in green.

"Oscar Diggs, a friend of your mother's… oh, don't you remember me?" he outstretched his hand.

"No, sir, sorry, we don't," Daphne replied, confused. "I think I heard Mom talking about a Mr. Diggs to someone – I doubt I remember more."

"Well, well, I haven't seen you, Daphne, since you were three and a half years old," Diggs laughed pleasantly. "My, my. Time rushes faster than the wind. And here's little Sabrina – now a nearly grown-up young lady!"

"If you are Mom's friend, haven't you seen her around here today?" Daphne interrupted.

"Why, I did. She introduced me to your Dad an hour ago. They told me they were going to the country today. They've left just minutes before I saw you, in fact."

"To the _country_?" Daphne cried, dazzled.

"This must have been the surprise," Sabrina guessed. "Where did Mom and Dad go?"

"In the direction of Upper East Manhattan," Diggs said. "Probably home."

"Maybe they didn't wait for us," Daphne murmured. "Thank you, Mr Diggs, but I think we have to go, then."

"Of course. Bye, girls, it's been a pleasure to meet you!"

Daphne and Sabrina ran back the way they came, trying to understand their parents' odd behavior. They didn't see Oscar Diggs calling someone on the mobile phone and speaking:

"The Love And Care Orphanage? Oscar Diggs on the line… Yes, the guy from the department store. My good friends have been missing for two days, and their kids are alone… You see… They live not far from you," he recited the Grimms' address. "The police? I urged the eldest girl to call them. They'll soon come – I think they'll bring the girls to you… OK. I know you'll take good care of them. What? Age? Ten and seven. Alright? Good day to you, then."

Meanwhile, Daphne opened the door and entered the apartment. It was empty and dark in there.


	3. A Newly Found Relation

**OK, here's the **_**REAL**_** twist in the story. **

* * *

**Chapter 3. A Newly Found Relation**

Daphne and Sabrina didn't meet Mom and Dad when they came home. The apartment was still empty, the lights were off. It looked really creepy in the evening.

"Oh, I think we should call the police," Daphne said at last, shuddering and almost crying. "They might help. Mom and Dad went home from the park but aren't home yet. They might have gotten themselves into a car crash."

Sabrina tried to hide her own tears.

Daphne was already calling:

"Is it the police departm… Oh, good evening. My name is Daphne Grimm. Our parents haven't come home today and they don't answer their phones… Our address? Oh, yes," she told the policeman the address and soon put the mobile phone away:

"They'll come in fifteen minutes, not more."

The minutes were more like an hour to Daphne and Sabrina. The girls were still hoping that their parents will come home and the whole thing will turn out to be some accident – not a serious one, preferably.

But the only people that came to their apartment were the policemen. They questioned the girls and the neighbors, examined the red handprint left on the wall several days ago, and inspected every room for any kinds of clues.

One of the neighbors, a kind old woman named Ms. Smith, looked after the girls for the next two days, while the police was searching for Henry and Veronica Grimm everywhere in the city and its suburbs. Finally, they found Veronica's car in a parking lot not far from the Central Park. There was a red handprint on the car, similar to the one left on the wall.

The search continued, meanwhile, the girls were sent to Love and Care Orphanage by the same helpful Mr. Diggs.

* * *

The name of the orphanage showed the qualities its inhabitants lacked. The children were naughty and awful-mannered. The headmistress Minerva Smirt was a cruel fool, famous for finding the worst foster parents in the world.

She offered Sabrina and Daphne to live with every possible kind of lunatic. A family that kept a tiger in their house. A couple that left the girls all alone for two weeks. A man who adored wild ferrets more than foster daughter. The list could go on and on.

Thankfully, these crazies were too crazy to go unnoticed by their neighborhoods. Sabrina and Daphne usually had a chance to live with these "mommies" and "daddies" for three weeks, not more, then their foster parents got arrested or put into lunatic asylums. Ms. Smirt always got furious about it.

Sometimes, though, the sisters had to escape by themselves. This drove Ms. Smirt really crazy.

This nightmare didn't seem to have an end. But the girls' lives changed abruptly one day, about two years after they parents disappeared.

* * *

Their latest foster "dad" had been sentenced to a lifetime in prison for being a serial killer and also attacking his "daughters" with a crowbar. Daphne and Sabrina came back to the orphanage to find Ms. Smirt suddenly kind and pleasant. It was a really dangerous sign.

"Hi, girls, I have great news for you," Ms. Smirt said, smiling widely and unnaturally.

"Who's next?" Sabrina groaned. "A burglar? A sleepwalker?.."

"No, no, much better," Ms. Smirt said. "We found a real relative of yours. He's coming today to take you _home_."

"What? Real relatives? We don't have any!" Sabrina argued angrily.

"It's your uncle Jacob Grimm. He has all the necessary ID documents," Ms. Smirt continued, unimpressed. "Pack your bags and brush your hair. Mr. Grimm will be here in two hours."

The girls rushed to their room and closed the door. Now it was safe to talk.

"Neither Dad nor Mom has ever told us about an uncle!" Daphne said in a confused voice. "They said we had no close relatives!"

"He's not our uncle, I'm sure of it!" Sabrina snapped. "Please, let's try to run away here as soon as we can. I won't bear such a life! It's hard enough to live in a crazy family, but it's a lot worse to live with _so-called _relatives."

"If he's an impostor, we might get him behind the bars for using a false ID," Daphne said.

"What does _impostor_ mean?" Sabrina asked. "Why are you so fond of long words? Or is it your stupid Daphne-ish language?"

"No, it's not. Impostor means someone posing as someone else," Daphne replied. "C'mon, little sister, we must get ready to meet our _uncle_!"

When Smirt called them to her room, they were completely ready. They ran along the crowded halls of the orphanage.

* * *

Smirt was sitting in her chair with the same false grin on her face. Next to her, there stood a blond-haired man in his mid-thirties, with blue eyes and a crooked nose. He was wearing an odd coat with countless different pockets.

"Here they are, Mr. Grimm," Ms. Smirt said. Mr. Grimm smiled and rushed to the girls to hug them both.

"Daphne, Sabrina! I can't believe my eyes!" he exclaimed. "How have you grown since I last saw you! It was – why, nine years ago when I last visited New York. Well, time is really fast. Do you remember me at all?"

"No," Sabrina said, trying to hide her suspicion.

"No wonder. Hank must have rarely spoken about me…" Mr. Grimm saddened and frowned, but then cheered up again. "Well, I'll certainly tell you about _that _later. Now – are these your bags? – let's go to your apartment. It has been sold, but I bought it back."

On this second, Mr. Grimm's mobile phone vibrated.

"Oh, sorry. Just a moment," he said and answered it. Ms. Smirt took the time to say in a loud whisper:

"If you both ever return here again, you'll regret it a lot!.. Goodbye, dear girls," she said to them in a sugary voice, noticing that Mr. Grimm has finished talking.

"Goodbye, Ms. Smirt," Mr. Grimm said. Sabrina was sure she heard sarcasm in his voice.

The sisters only nodded to Ms. Smirt before taking their bags and leaving the room and the orphanage forever.

"You can call me Uncle Jake," Mr. Grimm started talking excitedly as they caught a taxi to East Manhattan. "And didn't that old ogre… Ms. Smirt, I mean… did she tell you about your aunt?" his smile brightened. "You have an aunt, my wife, her name's Briar. She's waiting for us at home. We're planning a little feast to celebrate your return to the family."

When hearing about a feast, Daphne cheered up, but Sabrina was still scowling. Did her big sister believe the man? He didn't have anything to prove their relation. Well, at least he seemed a sane person. They could live with him and his wife for a while if everything went well.


	4. Home Again

**Chapter 4. Home Again**

The girls left the taxi, and Uncle Jake carried their bags to their dear old apartment. As Sabrina entered it, she found some minor changes in furnishing and color theme, but in general the apartment was just the same. Sabrina told Uncle Jake about this pleasant surprise. He grinned:

"Say thanks to Briar. When we bought it, it looked atrocious because of the previous owners. Briar found an old photo album of your mother's and looked through the old photos of the rooms. She was able to restore the design."

Daphne bit her palm in excitement, anxious to meet her Aunt Briar. Sabrina was still a little suspicious, though. She admitted that Uncle Jake was looking very much like her father, but it could be a disguise, after all.

Delicious smells were coming from the kitchen. Daphne clapped.

"Briar, dear, we're back home!" Uncle Jake called. "Come and meet your nieces."

"Oh, of course!" a happy voice cried, and Briar rushed out of the kitchen. She was quite young, with a tanned face, dark hazel eyes, and long curly hair. She was wearing an old-fashioned dress and an apron. She, too, ran to the girls and hugged them.

"Jake has told me so much about you!" she exclaimed. "You must be Daphne, and you must be Sabrina. Oh, you don't remember me at all, of course. Daphne has seen me… when she was six months old."

"I've always wanted to have an Aunt!" Daphne assured her. Briar laughed.

"Come on now, wash your hands, and let's have a small luncheon. Jake, bring the girls' bags to their room… We're also having a party today evening – Jake has probably told you already."

"How many guests?" Sabrina asked in an exhausted voice. "We're both tired of living with a crowd of other people."

"Sabrina! Speak in a better manner, especially to your Aunt!" Daphne scolded her quietly.

"Why, it's natural you girls don't like crowds," Briar nodded. "I understand. There are… let me see… eleven people coming, but don't worry. There are eight adults and only three kids. These are our only friends in New York. My fai… foster mothers, I mean, and the Andersen triplets with their mates and children. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourselves. The kids are adorable."

"Hm," Sabrina grunted doubtfully. Just then, Uncle Jake returned from their room:

"Now, Briar, let's talk about this during the dinner."

"Sure," Briar smiled and led the girls to the kitchen.

"It would be too grand to name it 'a dinner'," she explained. "Just something for you to eat before the party. Some green salad and roast beef, and strawberry muffins for the dessert."

"Yayy!" Daphne squealed happily. Even Sabrina was glad. The orphanage cuisine was something you see in nightmares.

Briar's food was excellent. The hungry girls ate all the salad and the beef. Briar smiled, seeing it:

"Poor girls, you've probably had dreadful dinners in the orphanage. What would you like to drink – tea, coffee, or milkshake?"

"How did you know I adore milkshake?" Sabrina wondered as Briar poured milkshake into her glass. Daphne chose tea.

While eating the dessert, the newly reunited family finally had a chance to talk.

"Why hasn't Dad ever mentioned you and Aunt Briar?" Sabrina asked Uncle Jake.

"Well," he hesitated bitterly. "It's a complicated story. Our family lived in Ferryport Landing – it's in some distance north from here. When I was eighteen, a catastrophe had occurred there – part of it was my fault. It killed our father, your Grandpa Basil. Since then, I've always felt terrible about it. I couldn't bear it. Not long after your birth, Daphne, I moved away from Ferryport Landing and had been out of touch with the family for years. Briar was the only one who accompanied me. We traveled around the world, we got married in Belgium, for example. But when I read on the Internet about your poor parents' disappearance, I decided to come here and take you away from the orphanage."

"The word about this horrible case reached us late," Briar added, with tears in her eyes. "A large article of New York Times was dedicated to the imprisonment of Mr. Greeley…"

"I see!" Daphne interrupted. "He was our worst and last foster father."

"You see, girls, Briar and I are also detectives," Uncle Jake said. "I started to investigate your parents' disappearance. Especially when I heard about the two scarlet handprints found on your wall and on Ronnie's car."

"These was just plain vandal's graffiti," Sabrina shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not," Briar said. She took a pile of old papers and cards out of her purse. "We'll… tell you later about that. You'd better look through these, Jake has carried them with him since his departure from Ferryport Landing."

The first card had a family photo on it. Daphne bit her palm.

"This is Mom! And that's Daddy! Only they're very young!" she cried, pointing at the picture. Sabrina snatched it:

"Look! There's Uncle Jake near them. And an old lady, and an old gentleman, and – oh! – an _enormous _dog."

"The old woman is your Granny Relda, my mother," Uncle Jake said. "Standing next to her is our family's guardian Mr. Canis. The dog's name is Elvis," he chuckled.

"So it's true – they are our family," Sabrina whispered.

"Of course they _are_, I never had any doubt," Daphne said with a hint of anger.

They read the note below the photo – it was their father's handwriting.

_Dear Jake,_

_The photo's printed. It's absolutely perfect, isn't it? Hope all of you like it._

_New York is wonderful! Veronica and I are having the time of our lives. We're coming home next week, on Thursday or Friday. If Charming starts annoying you again, call me immediately._

_Sorry, I'm too busy right now to write a letter – Veronica's friends are going to visit us in half an hour. Tomorrow I'll send you a full description of our honeymoon!_

_Say hello to Mom, Canis, and Elvis._

_Hank._

_P.S. I miss Mom a lot._

_P.S. (2) Tell Elvis that if he doesn't steal sausages from the fridge anymore, I'll bring him hot dogs. Didn't I make a joke?_

_P.S. (3) The SH signs have disappeared. Pity we haven't solved the mystery when it was possible! But perhaps it __**was**__ a coincidence after all. Two signs in New York, ten in Fairyport Landing. Some gang of vandals – maybe._

"What is the SH?" Sabrina asked. Aunt Briar and Uncle Jake both scowled.

"We'll tell you after the party, Brina," Uncle Jake said uncomfortably. "Tomorrow."

"And now we'll get ready for the party, for it's in two hours!" Briar smiled.


	5. The Fairytale Party

**For those who asked me whether it's a Puckabrina or Daphne/Puck fanfic: Sabrina is seven years old here! Puck will certainly appear and Puckabrina will come – but later. I hate Daphne/Puck pairing, by the way.**

**SPOILER: I'm bringing Daphne/OC here.**

* * *

**Chapter 5. The Fairytale Party**

Aunt Briar bought two new dresses for the girls: a floral one for Daphne, a blue one for Sabrina. Sabrina hated floral patterns.

Then the girls dressed up and helped their newfound Aunt with serving the food for the guests. Just then, the first ones of them came. Uncle Jake opened the door.

"Girls!" he called in a moment. "Buzzflower and Mallobarb have arrived!"

Briar, Daphne, and Sabrina barely had a chance to take off the aprons. They ran to the door to see two plump elderly ladies with curly gray hair, one dressed entirely in red, the other one was entirely in green. They hugged Briar happily and said:

"Congrats for finding your nieces, Rose! Let us meet them!"

"Rose is Briar's middle name," Uncle Jake whispered to the girls and then said louder:

"Buzzflower, Mallobarb, meet Daphne and Sabrina."

The two ladies hugged the girls, and Buzzflower (the one dressed in red) said cheerfully:

"Has Jake told you about our real identity?"

"Not yet," Daphne said. "But, I have to admit, you look familiar."

"Girls, Buzzflower and Mallobarb – as well as Briar – are fairytale characters," Uncle Jake announced.

"Fairytales aren't real!" Sabrina cringed.

"Oh, aren't they?" Briar chuckled. "My name's Princess Aurora Briar Rose, mostly known as Sleeping Beauty, and I was a good friend of the late Brothers Grimm. They recorded my story – as well as dozens of other so-called fairytales."

"Flora," Buzzflower introduced herself.

"And I'm Fauna," Mallobarb smiled. "Merryweather is in Ferryport Landing."

Daphne squealed and bit the palm of her hand. Sabrina wasn't convinced.

"We brought you magical gifts, dear girls," Buzzflower said, taking a wand out of her pocket. Mallobarb did the same.

Buzzflower waved her wand in the air, and suddenly two white roses appeared in Daphne's and Sabrina's hands. The girls looked at the roses, astonished.

"These roses are forever fresh," the fairy said. "But if some of your relatives or friends gets into danger, the flowers will turn blood red."

Then it was Mallobarb's turn. She waved her wand, and a small bluebird came flying through the door, which was still open.

"It's Azure, one of my dearest birds," Mallobarb explained. "She can talk and is a true, devoted friend. She always helps us when trouble comes."

"Can you really talk?" Sabrina asked the bird, amazed.

"Of course," Azure whistled. "Mallobarb teaches everyone in our family to speak human languages."

"Wow!" the sisters exclaimed in unison. "Thank you so much!"

"Oh, never mind," Buzzflower said.

"Well, ladies, let's go to the living-room now," Uncle Jake suggested. "New guests are coming soon, and we're still standing in the hall."

Soon Buzzflower and Mallobarb sat on the sofa in the living-room, and Daphne was peppering them with questions. Sabrina was slowly acknowledging the latest events. Briar was cooking some porridge for Azure.

"Was Uncle Jake the prince who woke Aunt Briar up?" Daphne asked. The two fairies laughed.

"Oh, no," Buzzflower replied. "The Prince Charming is a selfish rude brat – sorry for the expression, but it's true. He divorced Briar a week after the wedding. He has been married to nearly a dozen princesses, and divorced all of them."

"Not all," Mallobarb corrected. "Snow White left him before the marriage."

"Briar was depressed with this. She didn't want to marry anyone again. We built a café in Ferryport Landing and led the lives of three old spinsters. Merryweather started a car business and supplied us with money. It lasted for two hundred years – approximately – until Briar and Jake met. At first we didn't approve of their mutual feelings, but then we've known Jake as a nice fellow, so we allowed them to get married."

"How did you get to America?"

"Hasn't Jake told you even that yet? Well, your ancestors, the Brothers Grimm, brought fairytale characters here."

"Yaay, I've always dreamed of becoming a relative of some famous person!" Daphne cried.

"You'll meet descendants of another famous person very soon," Uncle Jake added. "Have some coffee, ladies… So, Daphne, don't forget the Andersen triplets are coming to the party!"

There was another squeal. Sabrina chuckled: her elder sister was more of a child than herself.

"We'll tell you our family history a little later," Briar smiled.

Soon there came another sound of the doorbell. Briar rushed to open the door, and in a minute seven people walked into the room. A fair-haired man with a short Japanese woman. A fair-haired woman (presumably the man's sister) accompanied by her husband who had long dark hair and a pale face.

In front of the couples there were three joyful children. One of them, an eight-year-old girl, was surely the first couple's daughter: she resembled her mother a lot. The other girl was around Sabrina's age too, she was red-haired and the most cheerful one. Her brother was around fourteen, and he looked quite handsome with his mother's complexion and his father's hair and face.

"Aha, two of the Andersen triplets with families!" Jake explained. "Glad to see you! Where are Christian and Anne?"

"They're a little late," the fair-haired woman smiled. "Billina's selling souvenirs from the Gnome Kingdom today, you see, Christian is anxious to get them. Oh, Buzzflower, Mallobarb, happy to see you! And these must be Daphne and Sabrina Grimm!"

"Indeed," Briar grinned. "Brina, Daphne, meet Willem Andersen, his wife Izumi, and their daughter Mary; Matthew Jivers, his wife Herda (nee Andersen) and their children Diana and James."

The adults presented four different boxes of candy to the sisters, which caused four happy squeals from Daphne. The kids were first a little shy, but after some usual polite questions they began to talk excitedly.

Diana and James talked with Daphne mostly, and Mary turned out to be a kindred soul of Sabrina's. The five kids came to the nursery. Briar had found all of the sisters' old toys, books, and DVD, so the children could play almost every possible game.

Mary seemed interested in the encyclopedias, and Sabrina gladly showed her the best ones. Diana asked Daphne to turn on _The Little Mermaid_ movie, and Daphne was asking James about the life of Hans Christian Andersen.

"Oh, I don't know much!" James said, laughing. "But I know a great lot of Andersen's characters. That might interest you more than our great-great-and-so-on-father's biography."

"Whom do you know, then?" Daphne asked.

"Well, I know Herda, Kay, and their children. My mom was named after Herda, as you can see. Also I'm acquainted with Prince August, the one who gave wonderful presents to a dreadfully proud princess."

"I've read his story," Daphne nodded.

"He has found Andrea, a girl who truly loves him, and they're now married with five children."

He was anxious to tell Daphne more about the modern life of Andersen's characters, but just then, the last of the Andersen triplets arrived with his wife.

"That's Uncle Christian," James smiled. "He's the most enthusiastic of us. In fact, he's very similar to your Uncle Jake. They're both crazy with collecting magical items. That's what our family does, and Uncle is the ideal magical stuff collector. Aunt Annie is very like him, too, although she's an Andersen only by marriage."

"We've talked to Billina during the auction," Anne Andersen was speaking to Uncle Jake at the moment. "She has learned something about the SH."

"The SH!" Sabrina, who was listening, exclaimed. "Daphne, remember how Uncle and Aunt mentioned it?"

"Sure," Daphne said. "What can that be, I wonder."

"We know about the Scarlet Hand," James said. "We can tell you, right?"

"We can," Mary nodded.

"So, what is it?" Daphne asked.


	6. The Scarlet Hand

**Chapter 6. The Scarlet Hand**

"It's the Scarlet Hand, some mysterious rebellious group of fairytale characters that organizes lots of bizarre crimes in Ferryport Landing, New York, and some other cities," James began. "But its main base is certainly Ferryport Landing. No one has ever caught any members of this group, and the only clue of its existence is a red handprint sign which appears here and there, when some unusual crime is being committed," James said.

"Wow!" Sabrina exclaimed. "My mom found such a sign a week before she… she…" she saddened, unable to say the word "disappeared".

"We understand," Mary said gently. Sabrina sighed and continued:

"And another sign was found on our parents' empty car."

"So that's it!" James cried. "It's the Hand's doing no doubt. Some vandal might paint a red handprint once – well, _twice_ at most – but not dozens of times in random places."

"But why did this Scarlet Hand need to kidnap our parents?" Daphne wanted to know. "What did they do? They weren't involved in politics or crime investigation."

"They _were_, in fact," James said sadly. "As the Grimms, they solved lots of fairytale detective cases. It's the job of your family… wait, didn't you know?"

"No," Daphne shook her head. "Mom and Dad had never told us."

"I don't believe you!" Sabrina said to James. "Now that I've seen Buzzflower and Mallobarb, I admit fairytales are real. But Mom and Dad – they were sensible enough to stay away from some stupid bedtime story business!"

"When goblins stole the Gnome King's belt, Mrs. Veronica Grimm helped us to get it back," Diana smiled. "Jamie was three years old back then, but Mommy had frequently told us the story."

"Mom didn't even like fairytales!" Sabrina cried in a tearful voice. "Daphne was the only one in our family who did!"

"I don't know, but you can ask every Everafter about Mrs. Grimm and…" Diana began.

"_Everafter_?" Daphne asked. "What can that be?"

"A more polite word for a fairytale character," James explained.

"So Mom was investigating fairytale cases – and we knew nothing!.." Daphne sighed.

"We'll find Mr. and Mrs. Grimm, and you'll be able to join them in your family business," James smiled reassuringly.

"_We_?" Sabrina raised her eyebrows.

"The combined forces of the Grimms and the Andersens," Diana nodded. "At first the SH case seemed just a local one, but now it looks more like a worldwide catastrophe. Your uncle has invited us here to discuss the first steps of solving it."

"But you've said there's only one clue – the handprint sign!" Daphne was confused.

"We'll solve it somehow," James said in a heroic voice. "We need to stop whatever freaky things the Hand is planning for us. They're certainly planning something bad."

"And I don't want to get mixed up in this!" Sabrina announced. "I don't want to believe some teenagers whom I barely know."

"You can ask your aunt and uncle about the Hand – they'll tell you just the same," James shrugged.

"Sabrina, didn't you understand the main thing?" Daphne rolled her eyes. "_The Hand has kidnapped our parents_. If we track it down, we'll find it."

Sabrina's eyes lit up:

"But – anyway – we cannot track down the whole thing with one clue to our help. I don't believe it!"

"We'll use every evidence we have," Diana said. "I discussed the case with Mom."

Suddenly, Anne Andersen opened the door:

"Hey, kids, I've heard you talking about the Hand," she said. "We were doing the same, so maybe you'll join us in the sitting-room?"

Sabrina sighed. She still hoped that the Hand, the bizarre fairytale mafia, was a kids' fairytale by itself. She turned out to be wrong. It was a serious matter indeed.

"Alright, Aunt Annie," Mary said.

They went to the sitting room. Aunt Briar gave them tea with brownies and apple pie, while the rest of the adults were listening to Uncle Jake's words.

Uncle Jake was speaking about the Hand:

"The Scarlet Hand rose more than a decade ago. The first crime it had committed was destroying a lunatic asylum in Ferryport Landing. They freed several extremely dangerous creatures, including the Jabberwocky," Uncle Jake frowned. "It killed my father Basil. And the worst thing was that I accidentally helped the Hand! You know that Ferryport Landing is surrounded by an invisible barrier that prevents Everafters from leaving it. And my brother Henry and I were both in love with Everafter girls in our youth. We decided to set them free, and I read a barrier-breaking spell in Baba Yaga's books. The spell shut down the main barrier for five seconds, but it also turned off the protection barrier that surrounded the asylum. The Hand, when it found out, half-destroyed the building and set the patients free."

Uncle Jake sighed deeply.

"Briar and Goldilocks (Henry's girlfriend) were set free too. But Henry broke up with Goldilocks and left for New York after my father was killed. As for me – well, I kept traveling around the world with Briar until recently I've found my nieces. But the main thing was that the Hand first appeared in that barrier-breaking business. The former asylum is now covered in red handprints."

"Poor grandpa," Daphne said after hearing the tale. "And poor Daddy and Uncle…"

Izumi Andersen took her hand reassuringly.

"How many crimes have the evil guys committed since then?" Herda Jivers asked.

"About two dozen. Most of them in the past three years," Briar answered. "And the only thing we know is the scarlet handprint. We don't even know who are its members, Ohh! But Jake has found some way to solve the mystery."

"Indeed," Uncle Jake nodded. "In Ferryport Landing, a house has been blown up – as the papers say. I've got a call from my mother and she suspects that it was trampled by a giant."

"A _giant_?" Daphne and Sabrina exclaimed in unison.

"Of course. There's a great many of them in the Giants' Kingdom. But they can't get here without a magical beanstalk. That means what?"

"They got here using a beanstalk?" Sabrina shrugged.

"Sure! Exactly!" Uncle Jake grinned. "And magical beanstalks don't grow everywhere. It can help us to solve the case. A red handprint was found inside the remains of the house, you see! Also the farmer who lived there is alive, which means we have a witness of a crime committed by the Hand – for the first time!"

"And what are we doing now?" Willem Andersen wondered.

"We're going to Ferryport Landing tomorrow morning," Uncle Jake said. "We'll meet your Granny and Mr. Canis, girls!" he said to Sabrina and Daphne.

Daphne squealed happily.


End file.
